Friday, February 29, 2008

HAPPY LEAP YEAR DAY! (KINDA LONG POST)

Today is February 29 and if that sounds unusual to you, it should be; it's Leap Day. Once every four years, the month of February carries 29 days (as opposed to the normal 28 days). Why do we have a Leap Year day in the first place?

Our solar year (the time required for Earth to travel once around the Sun) is 365.24219 days.

Our calendar year is either 365 days in non leap years or 366 days in leap years (Feb 29th inserted).

A leap year every 4 years gives us 365.25 days, sending our seasons off course and eventually in the wrong months.

To change .25 days to .24219, we need to skip a few leap days (Feb 29ths) .... century marks not divisible by 400. So with a few calculations tweek the calendar by skipping 3 of 4 century leap years to average out our calendar year to 365.2425, which is pretty darn close to the solar year 365.24219. (SOURCE: Royal Greenwich Observatory)

(got that?)

With Leap Day, there are certain things that hold true, most of it based on tradition. For example:

*If you're a woman, wait no longer for that engagement ring; Today is your day to profess your love to the man of your dreams by proposing marriage to him. This tradition originates in Ireland in the 5th century, when St. Bridget convinced St. Patrick to allow one day where a woman could propose to a man. If the man refused, he was fined (incidentally, St. Bridget proposed to St. Patrick; he said no).

Over 1600 years later, the fine has since been removed, but women traditionally still have that one day to profess and propose to that special guy. (Also widely known as Sadie Hawkins Day)

*If you're a "Leaper", party till you drop; you have three years of missed birthdays to make up. It is estimated that there are about 200,000 people in the U.S. who were born on February 29th. You have about a 1 in 1506 chance of being born on February 29th. So if you are turning, say 40 today, you can really say that you're only 10 and be telling the truth!

This particular leap year is unique in that it falls on a Friday. That happens once every 28 years. 28 YEARS!!! So to celebrate, we're teaming up with GUINNESS to hold a special promotion TONIGHT starting at 7:30pm. There will be special giveaways and if you are celebrating a birthday TODAY, we'll buy your first Guinness (need a driver's license to prove your birth btw)!





We had a bit of action on 3rd Avenue yesterday as a fire broke out nearby. It seems that one of those small shops next to McDonald's had some kind of fire and the FDNY ended up blocking the whole street in order to deal with it. Nothing like a bit of chaos to get your afternoon commute home started!

Last night was one for the ages as far as weather goes. It was brutally cold (temps dipped to near 10 degrees), and as a result, it looked like the makings of a slow night. But then, slowly but surely, people began trickling in. Starting with NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, MR. CHIPS, MR. LOW-KEY, OH-DANNY BOY among others at Happy Hour, we eventually were graced with more than a few regulars, including, ADSENSE GIRL, BABY GIRL, STIFFLER (after a long hiatus), CUSACK and AFFLECK, AMERICAN PSYCHO, DOUBLE-S, and the newly-christened CREDIT-SUISSE CUTIE, during the course of the night.

There was also a large contingent of computer geeks from EA sports, apparently in town for some kind of conference or convention. They hung out for a good part of the night, drinking imported beers and talking gaming talk until they were graced by two unusually tanned blondes from California and Florida, respectively. Upon checking them out, my spider senses told me that they were either a)strippers, b)Penthouse magazine wannabes, c)hookers or d)all of the above. The immediately found themselves hanging out with the Geek Squad and eventually leaving with them, much to the dismay of the rest of the bar.

Overall, what started out as a potentially crappy night, turned into a pretty good one after all.

*ONE LAST NOTE: Remember a few months ago when I set up two blog readers on a "MYSTERY BLIND DATE"? Well, the two FINALLY met up last night (after months of delays), and I am proud to say that they both hit it off tremendously! Chemistry was very good; they both had nothing but positive things to say about each other.... I think we may have something here folks! Good luck to the both of them- no pressures from me! I did my job and made the introductions! Anyone else looking for a hook-up? Shoot me an email and I'll try to make the magic happen.

WEEKEND HAPPENINGS

FRIDAY: After-Work Happy Hour (5pm-10pm): All Beers, Mixed Well Drinks and House Wines, $4.00! GUINNESS LEAP DAY PROMO (7:30pm), plenty of drink specials and giveaways!

SATURDAY: "Kick the Keg" Saturday (12pm-8pm). $2.00 Mugs, ALL BEERS ON TAP! Catch English Premier Soccer, NHL and NCAA hoops all afternoon! HOCKEY NIGHT IN NY (8pm-11pm): $3.00 Molson Canadian and $4.00 Coors Light drafts during NHL telecasts!

SUNDAY: "Sunday Fun-Day". $4.00 Domestic Drafts ALL DAY LONG! Catch sports on TV or partake in our many board games, or dabble in the Sunday Times puzzle. Whatever tickles your fancy, it's a day to relax!


Enjoy the weekend!


NUFF SAID